2008 Yearly Report

The 2008 Coburg 24 Hour Carnival was
expanded in concept and
spread over 2 weekends, with the 6 Hour events being held on Sunday
30th March and the 24 Hour and the 12 Hour events being held on the
weekend of 19th - 20th April. 2008 Coburg 24 Hour Championship.

The 6 hour races were held on Sunday 30
March. The day was perfect for ultra competition with cool overcast
conditions for the 9AM start and temperatures that stayed in the mid
teens for the duration of the event. Of the 31 entries (21
in the runs and 10 in the walks), 24 made it to the start line and 23
finished the event.

In the men's walk, Terry
O'Neill
and
Clarrie Jack battled it outfor
the first 3 hours before Terry eventually broke free. From then on, it
was plain sailing for Terry as he powered home with 52.983 km for a new
Coburg Championship record and a new Australian M50 walk record.
Clarrie hung on for second with 47.046 km ahead of Steve Jordan who walked a big PB
with 45.043 km

In the women's walk, Karyn O'Neill (used
to be Karyn Bollen until shemarried Terry just two months prior to this
event) was anothercompetitor to do a big PB with her winning distance
of 46.182 km. Thatmade a walking double for the two newly weds. Dawn Parris walked wellto take
second place with 43.737 km ahead Sandra
Howorth
with 38.491 km.

A total of 48 walkers and runners contested the 24
Hour weekend. The
starter's gun was fired at 10AM on Saturday morning in warm and sunny
conditions. The clear blue skies continued throughout the day as
temperatures quickly rose to the expected 25C and competitors
struggled to stay hydrated and cool through the long first day.
Melbourne then showcased its contrasting weather patterns with
overnight temperatures plummeting. Finally another warm morning allowed
competitors to throw off the layers of clothing and finish in beautiful
autumnal conditions.

The walks also saw strong fields and the Centurions
Club was pleased to
see two walkers reach in excess of 100 miles.

In the Men's 24 Hour walk, Australian Centurion Andrew Ludwig led from the gun and
walked without any significant breaks until he reached the 100 mile
mark in 22:34:20. This wasAndrew's second centurion qualifier,
following on from his initial one
in 1994. Behind him, ultra runner Colin
Brooks added another string tohis bow with a strong second place
walk of 148.226 km, ahead of
Centurion Pat Fisher
with145.240 km.

The Women's 24 Hour walk was an exciting affair with
South Australian
walker Catherine Cox having to
dig deep in the final 6 Hours of the event, eventually reaching the 100
mile mark in 23:54:28. Her 100mile time was reminiscent of the 2004
walk of Graham Watt who reached
the target in 23:59:23 on this same track. Graham was on hand to
acknowledge the gutsy performance and welcome Cathy to the Centurion
Club as Australian Centurion Number 54.Behind her, Karyn O'Neill and Sandra Howorth took the minor medals
with 129.044 and 64.000 km respectively.

The Men's 12 Hour walk saw Australian M65 walk
record holder Robin Whyte win
with a very impressive 84.975 km, ahead of David Attrill and Gary Turner.

In the Women's 12 Hour walk, the mother and daughter
combination of
Dawn Parris and Leah Stringer took the honours with
78.079 and 56.811 km respectively.

CENTURION WALK QUALIFIERS

Andrew Ludwig
Kathy Cox

22:34:20
23:54:28

C25
C54

The Jack Webber Trophy was
awarded
to Cathy Cox for the most
meritorious Centurion
performance on the day